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A group of about 30 area residents took part in a protest in front of the Chatham Courthouse in Chatham, Ont. on Thursday November 5, 2015, to call on the justice system to impose the harshest penalty possible if a trio of area residents are found guilty of committing acts of animal cruelty in connection to operating a dog-fighting ring near Tilbury, Ont. (Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News/Postmedia Network)

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A group of animal lovers met at the Chatham Courthouse Thursday to say they want the harshest penalty possible imposed if three local people are found guilty of charges related to the operation of a dog-fighting ring.

About 30 people carrying placards and chanting: “Stop the dog fighting, lock up the sociopaths and throw away the key,” want to ensure the justice system is aware of the public outrage over the animal cruelty involved in the case.

John Robert, 43, his wife Kim Robert, 39, and Michel Gagnon, 41, each face several animal cruelty-related charges after being arrested on Oct. 9 at a rural property near Tilbury. The arrests resulted from a joint investigation by Chatham-Kent police and the Ontario SPCA into an alleged dog-fighting ring.

The protest was organized by the Sarnia-based community group, Joe the Cat, formed in 2013 after a cat was shot several times in the head with a pellet gun.

Michelle Nicholson, a volunteer with Joe the Cat, said a petition, titled 'Mission No Mercy,' with about 5,200 signatures, was delivered to the Crown Attorney's office at the Chatham Courthouse Wednesday. She said signatures continue to be added to the online petition, which will be resubmitted as this case goes on in court.

When asked about the impact of Thursday’s protest, Nicholson said, “I think that demonstrating is absolutely meaningful.”

She said she also believes this kind of public display of outrage will be considered in the judgement that’s handed down if the accused are found guilty.

Windsor resident Debra Morain said she is so appalled by the case she believed she had to do something.

“I can't believe the barbarism and how mean and cruel people can be . . . and I'm just disgusted at the human race that this goes on,” she said.

Morain doesn't believe there is any tolerance within a civilized society an activity that would require people to watch or wager money on dog fighting.

“They're sickos, how can they get off watching that?” she said.

Christine Loop also made the trip from Windsor to be part of the protest.

She said she is disturbed that two of the accused faced previous animal cruelty charges in relation to dog fighting after being arrested in 1998. The accused in that case were John Robert and Kim Robert, who went by Kim Tran at the time. Charges were dropped against Tran, and Robert ended up paying a $1,000 fine for cruelty to animals.

If found guilty on the current charges, Loop said, “let's hope that this doesn't happen again that they're slapped on the wrist again, and they're going to do it again down the road.”

Shirley Bates, a volunteer with CK Animal Rescue, wants some kind of penalty imposed on people who attend dog fights.

She said she is “horrified that our community would be involved with something like that, and also shocked that people would actually attend a dog-fighting ring.”

But she said she also sees a lot of good outcomes after abused dogs are placed in foster homes to be re-socialized before being adopted.

Bates said her reward is “seeing the dogs adopted into good homes.”

Connie Badour, a committee member with the Chatham-Kent Dog Park committee, said for the dogs involved in this case “to be treated like trash is just horrendous.”

As far as she's concerned, anybody “who can pit animal against animal are some of the lowest, subhuman life forms on the face of the earth.”

If the accused are found guilty, Badour hopes the penalties that result from the case “set a precedent for other cases that may come up, because we know this is not the only dog fighting operation in North America.”